Robbie Williams: Documentary is about taking back power
He also speaks about addictions and his mental health struggles in the Netflix series.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Robbie Williams has said his Netflix documentary is about “taking back power” after speaking about feeling a lack of control over his own narrative.
The singer and former Take That star, 49, was at the premiere of Robbie Williams on Wednesday, held at the London Film Museum in Covent Garden, London.
He told the PA news agency: “In a way, it feels like being the birthday boy, it feels like a very special occasion.
“I feel very vulnerable, because I’m yet again laying myself (out) there and oversharing about myself, in the hope that I will be seen somewhere, somehow because I’ve never been really in control of the narrative on who or what I am out there.
“So it’s a very important tool for me to have to represent myself in the best way possible.”
He also said: “It does feel like taking power, but also exploiting it for commercial gain.”
Williams also described the documentary as “quite traumatic” as he said the “most interesting bits” for public viewing would be about his mental health.
He added: “The most revealing bits are the breakdown in mental health and the addictions and the agoraphobias and the body dysmorphias and the dyslexia and the dyscalculia.
“And all of these things that have been collected, like Scout badges, and I get it. Hopefully what I reveal will make me be more human in people’s eyes.”
Agoraphobia is anxiety linked to fears of the outside world while dyslexia and dyscalculia cause issues with reading and mental arithmetic.
Body dysmorphia is when the sufferer obsessively tries to correct perceived flaws in their appearance.
Williams also said that the impact of the documentary will take him time to work out what it means for him.
“I’m once again going ‘like me’ and I’m putting my head above the parapet to have people go ‘No, we still don’t’. Kick.” he added. “So who knows what this is?”
His wife, the actress Ayda Field, said that Williams is a “good co-communicator” in their relationship.
She said she hoped people would stop thinking of him as a “brash showman” and a “peacock” who is “arrogant” .
Field said: “I’d really like them to understand the man because the man is a really kind man.
“Also with his mental health and his struggles and his openness with addiction, I really hope if someone’s watching this docuseries and it resonates for them and it helps them and kind of gives them some comfort that other people, people who are famous, also struggle on that.
“There is a beautiful story and a beautiful ending that’s possible.”
She also said: “The actual process of shooting, it was very emotional. Rob would kind of be locked in a room for 14 hours, and then walk out looking like he’d seen a ghost and quite fragile, and the kids would not understand what was happening.
“And I didn’t really know the extent of what he was watching so I can only kind of, cheerleading from the side and kind of build him up and think we would just kind of hold hands and watch reality TV and make things better for the next day, and it’s weird that it’s finally here, because we’ve had to live through it.”
Robbie Williams is a limited series that will be released on Netflix on November 8.